Angeleno Heights burglar gets caught on video

An Angeleno Heights resident named Rene wants to alert his neighbors about an attempted break in into this home on May 7 that was recorded by surveillance cameras. The video clip above shows a man trying to open windows of the home on Bellevue Avenue near East Kensington Road. The suspected burglar was not able to break in but Rene wants to spread word of the incident in hope of having the suspect identified and apprehended by police:

The man in the video attempted to break in while my family and I were sleeping. My home has surveillance cameras all around the property due to several attempted break ins the past.In the video the man can be seen trying to pry open a front porch window and looking through several other windows. The burglar then proceeded to go into the back yard and while walking thru the side of the my home he realizes that he was caught on surveillance.

A police report has been filed and officer Lewis Ford from the Rampart Station has come out to the home to investigate.

42 comments

Does the fact that he was attempting to break in while you were home and asleep constitute intent to harm? Just wondering, as I probably would have put him down once my cameras alerted me to movement on my porch while my children were sleeping… this is just eery.

Even the unsuccessful attempt to burglarize constitutes commitment (and it doesn’t have to be forcible entry). Though the suspect in this case did not get inside the residence (thankfully!), just having the intent to enter to commit theft or another felony allows for his arrest for 459 PC — not to forget he’s also guilty of prowling (647[h] PC), a misdemeanor. Whether the suspect’s intent was to physically harm the occupants or permanently deprive them of property is unknown.

By “put him down” I’m assuming oldman means he would kill the suspect. That might be ruled justifiable, but moe than likely if the suspect is on the porch and wasn’t presenting a direct physical threat of serious bodily injury or death, oldman could also be arrested for for homicide (187 PC).

Fantastic work, catching this loser on camera!! I’ve been a vocal proponent of security cameras for our community in Angelino Heights. Its so encouraging to see residents using this technology to deter crime and help the police identify the culprits.

Thank you to the Eastsider for covering this story. You can buy a system with the quality seen on this video for under $300 online. Please, if you can afford it, take this step to protect yourselves and your community. When a community and its local media come together in a joint effort to promote positive interventions, we all benefit.

Please press charges. Be part of the change for the positive. Criminals will move on if they know there’s a good chance they won’t get away unseen.

I’m no lawyer but i don’t think he can be charged with intent to harm. The police mentioned that if it were just an attempted break in they still can’t arrest the burglar. However, since he tried to get in to 3 different windows they will charge him with attempted burglary. As far as as the cameras alerting me with motion goes…. I would be notified every 2 minutes with all the cats, possums, cars and people walking on the sidewalk. Would have loved to have personally caught him though.

Correction, Rene. The number of attempts aren’t the deciding factor. The suspect’s initial unsuccessful attempt to burglarize is enough to arrest for attempted burglary because the key element of the crime (459 PC) is the suspect’s intent to enter to commit theft or another felony, which from the footage is clear.

Anytime! It’s troubling that the police told you that they wouldn’t be able to arrest if it was “just an attempted break-in.” Attempted burglary is a felony — and the access doesn’t have to be gained by force. If I walk in to someone’s house without permission through a wide open door, take something and leave; that’s burglary. If I walk in through that same wide open door intent on stealing something, but then hear a noise and flee without taking any property? That’s still attempted burglary.

I live in Glassell Park. My house was robbed on April 8, someone came in a window while I was at work and cleaned me out of all my good, family heirloom jewelry, plus a few small electronics. They fled out the back door, noone saw anything. The police have arrested someone who supposedly has committed many robberies in the area and other areas, but Im not 100% sure that he’s the guy.. None of my items have been found so far and Im heartbroken. I have now set up a full alarm system and am in the process of building a massive fence so noone can access my house from the street anymore. This is very creepy footage. I propose gates and fences, why even have them get this far? I wish I had been more paranoid in the beginning.

I feel for you Beth. Really sorry this happened to you. You’ve taken good steps to protect yourself and I’m sure your story will act as encouragement for the people in our community so they will take action too. We all have a vested interest in protecting not just our families and homes but our neighbors too. Collectively, we can make a difference.

Oof. So sorry, Beth. I too am in Glassellandia. Do you mind giving a slightly more specific idea of where you live? West or East of the 2, North of South of Forest Lawn? Thanks and hope your things come back to you!

This is really a disturbing video. Can anybody tell if the guy looks like he’s carrying a gun or any kind of weapon? It’s so brazen that he was going to break in during the night while this family slept.

As far as him being arrested… well, I just have little faith in our system. Could the guy claim he thought it was his own house, or a friend’s house? Even if he broke in and got arrested, burglars have been known to sue their victims for injuries they have sustained during the robbery. It’s a crazy world.

I installed surveillance after my garage door was tagged, car keyed, and mail stolen over the course of a few months. I really hated to do it, I don’t like the idea of having surveillance around my house. But it does make me feel better than I can go to the tape if necessary.

It was very brazen of the burglar!!! He can’t claim that it was an innocent mistake because there is another video from a different camera that shows the burglar running out with his t shirt over his head when he realizes i had cameras on my property.

does anyone have a specific video system that they are particularly happy with? i would love something that alerted me and started taping as soon as there was motion. also – where do they tape to? my computer hard drive would be an obvious choice but what if they walk out with my computer?

also – do any systems automatically call a cell phone with a live picture when there is motion? that would be great to have set-up inside when you’re not at home.

I was referred to 3tmedia for my surveillance system and i actually purchased it with them. It records motion and does the job as you can see by the video. Joe is the owner and his installation and follow up support is excellent. Feel free to reach out to him for a consult. He can be conacted at [email protected]

Chris, he is indeed creepy, but from what he is shown doing in the video, it is not an assumption that the suspect is a potential burglar, he is by penal code definition guilty of attempted burglary. The act of burglary doesn’t relate only to theft, and it wouldn’t be the only thing he would be charged with if he did get inside. Burglary is nothing more than that act of entering a building — crossing its threshold (whether by breaking in or just walking in through an open door) — with the intent to commit pretty much any felony. So if he hypothetically got inside, whether he steals property or does something far creepier, he is first and foremost a burglar in this video.

I watched this again and this guy seemed like he was on a mission to get in that house. Aren’t burglars usually oppurtunists? He seemed pretty determined to get into this house. Also, he may not live far he looks pretty casual with the flip flops and it looks like he is wearing one of those mesh shirts that you can kind of see through. Was that a tatoo on the back of his neck and back area between his shoulder blades? Check the Megans law site this creep has to get caught.

Yep. What makes this creepy is that his selection of the home seemed intentional. I also noticed the tattoo on his back. I support gun control but it’s precisely prowlers like this that compel me to keep a couple of firearms ready for home protection. I don’t like it but the thought of a creep like this getting the jump on me is just intolerable.

Whoa! Very frightening. One commenter identifies the culprit as being a neighborhood regular. Another recognizes him from previous security footage. This post has been seen by how many people? And still LAPD hasn’t been able to get him off the streets? Think what could have happened if he had gained entrance. Maybe he would have stolen just a watch. Or maybe one of the children would have run into him on the way to the bathroom. Then what?

Urgh. Really creepy looking. And also, I agree that’s a strange choice of outfit for a premeditated break-in. Flip flops and a light colored shirt are not exactly efficient getaway apparel. Wen I was broken into in Echo Park cops told me a dog is the number one deterrent to potential burglars.

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